Los Fabulosos Cadillacs tore through the streets of Buenos Aires in the 1980s, taking young Argentines on a rocking ride, introducing high-energy, politically tinged ska and punk to Latin America while still making it feel homegrown. As the band members progressed, they became more adventurous, trying new sounds.

This tribute album gathers contemporary Rock en Español bands — several heavy hitters in their own right — to remake their favorite tunes from Los Cadillacs.

The bands get one shot each and smooth out the amiable roughness of Los Cadillacs, creating a collection of accessible rock that is polished more than punk. None of the groups gets to distinguish itself much, and there is only one female voice — the deep alto of Andrea Echeverri of Colombia’s Los Aterciopelados. That said, the album is an upbeat and thoroughly likeable collection that highlights Los Cadillacs’ melodiousness as opposed to their shaggy-dog energy.

The group’s biggest hit — 1993’s “El Matador” — is covered by the popular Mexican rap group Cartel de Santa (whose lead singer, ironically, was arrested for killing a bandmate). Keeping the song’s underlying samba-reggae rhythms, Cartel de Santa mixes in a deadpan rap that plays off the song’s anthemic shouts.

Los Tipitos ramps up the skanking reggae beats for an almost U2-like grand rock sound on “Sigiendo La Luna”; the Venezuelan party band Los Amigos Invisibles take an efficient try at the mambo-enfused rock of “Mal Bicho”; the laid-back “Calveras y Diablitos” gets a heavy rock backbeat from Cuentos Borgeanos. The shuffling ska of “Estoy Harto de Verte Otros” is squeezed into a metal rock format by Massacre. The album closes out with Dr. Krapula tackling the celebratory good wishes of “La Vida” with perhaps the best re-creation of the Cadillacs’ vibe, singing in Spanish, “In life we don’t want to suffer/we want to touch the sky.”

Longtime fans may welcome the new versions — especially since the band took a seven-year hiatus (only recently returning with “La Luz del Ritmo”). The album will undoubtedly make fans nostalgic for the glory days of Los Cadillacs, and think the originals better. Still, the album is a well-crafted reminder of the great songwriting that made Los Cadillacs beloved across Latin America.